- Date
- January 7, 1996, 16:20 local (22:20 UTC)
- Place
- Nashville, TN
- Injuries
- 5 minor, 88 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N922VVDouglas DC-9-32
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 11, 1996
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19960107000159A
- Case key
- 37890
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the flight crew's improper procedures and actions (failing to contact system operations/dispatch, failing to use all available aircraft and company manuals, and prematurely resetting the ground control relay circuit breakers) in response to an in-flight abnormality, which resulted in the inadvertent in-flight activation of the ground spoilers during the approach to landing and the airplane's subsequent descent rate and excessively hard ground impact in the runway approach light area. Contributing factors in the accident were ValuJet's failure to incorporate cold weather nosegear servicing procedures in its operations and maintenance manuals, the incomplete procedural guidance contained in the ValuJet quick reference handbook, and the flight crew's inadequate knowledge and understanding of the aircraft systems.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
After takeoff, pilots (plts) had difficulty retracting landing gear (LG), & manually bypassed LG anti-retraction system to retract gear. While climbing, they realized cabin pressurization (CP) & takeoff warning (TW) systems were still in ground mode. (There was evidence nosegear shock strut was underserviced/underinflated for cold/winter weather operation; & strut did not extended sufficiently to actuate ground shift mechanism, to release landing gear lever anti-retraction mechanism, & to shift aircraft (acft) systems to flight mode.) Using quick reference handbook (QRH) procedures, plts pulled Ground Control Relay circuit breakers (C/Bs), then noted CP & TW began operating in flight (flt) mode. En route, the flt was uneventful. Plts decided to reset C/Bs just before touchdown. They made a normal approach to runway, & on short final approach, Captain reset C/Bs. At that time, ground spoilers activated, & acft descended rapidly, striking ground tail first in runway approach light area. Abnormal procedure in QRH stated 'GROUND CONTROL RELAY C/Bs (if pulled) . . . RESET . . . .' This was listed in 'Approach and Landing' section of procedure. Acft operating manual (AOM) stated 'Reset Ground Control Relay circuit breakers during taxi . . . .' Plts stated they had not referenced AOM, nor did they notify company of in-flight irregularity. (See: NTSB/AAR-96/07 for detailed info)
Factual narrative
For detailed information concerning this case, see the National Transportation Safety Board Blue Cover Report (NTSB/AAR-96/07).
Aircraft
- Registration
- N922VV
- Reported as
- Douglas DC-9-32
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 47274
- Airframe hours
- 1,776
- Engine
- P&W JT8D-9A, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Valujet Airlines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · January 7, 1996 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- ATL · Atlanta, GA
- Destination
- BNA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- BNA · Nashville International, runway 2R, 8,000 × 150 ft, concrete
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 4,381 total · 1,061 in this make and model · 1,212 as pilot in command · 167 in the last 90 days · 61 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 340° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 21 °F, dew point 14 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BNA, 1 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.